Kenyan President William Ruto, who chairs the East African Community (EAC), said he would convene a meeting of regional leaders over the escalating security crisis in eastern DR Congo, where rebels threatened to occupy the city of Goma.
The M23 rebels on Sunday, January 26, surrounded the capital of North Kivu province, whose military governor Peter Cirimwami was killed on the battlefield on Thursday. The Goma airspace was closed and activities in Lake Kivu were suspended, rebel spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said.
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"The escalating deteriorating peace and security situation in the DRC is of grave concern," Ruto said on Sunday, calling for immediate and unconditional cessation of hostilities.
The Kenyan leader said he had spoken to President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Felix Tshisekedi of DR Congo.
"After consulting the Heads of State of EAC Member States, we will convene an Extraordinary Summit in the next 48 hours to chart the way forward," Ruto said.
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The rebels, who have been fighting the Congolese army since late 2021, threatened to occupy Goma on Monday if government forces do not lay down their weapons.
The coalition of the Congolese army includes the genocidal FDLR militia, Wazalendo group, 10,000 Burundian forces, 1,600 European mercenaries, and South Africa-led SADC forces.
President Ruto said the African Union "must not remain passive in the face of this escalating crisis."
He said EAC was ready to collaborate with the AU and the SADC bloc in encouraging the warring parties to prioritise engagement.
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M23 seized Goma in 2012 and controlled it for over a week, before its fighters were defeated and fled, only to resurface in late 2021.
The rebels demand direct peace talks with the Congolese, which has ruled out any possibility of coming to the negotiation table with a group it calls a terrorist movement.
The rebels say they fight to protect communities that are persecuted by government-supported genocidal militias like the FDLR and Wazalendo.
Regional initiatives, the EAC-led Nairobi process and AU-backed Luanda process, have failed to end the war politically, with the Congolese government pursuing a military solution.
